Nothing but confusion - Chapter 2.
by miss.pebbles.
A/N - hey! Here's the second chapter - thanks for the reviews I've received! But please keep on reviewing! I love reviews, they seriously keep an authors imagination alive!
Disclaimers are the same. Enjoy!
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Chapter 2 -
"Hi Luke!" Lorelai called out, taking a seat at one of the empty tables in the diner. "Is Rory here?"
Luke acknowledged her presence by nodding his head, his pulse racing wildly, excited that she had come to the diner for dinner.
"No, she's not here" he said gruffly, setting down a cup of coffee in front of her. "This will tide you over 'til she gets here."
"Awww, Luke, thanks!" Lorelai said, surprised, but graciously accepting his cup without any other questions.
The diner door clanged open, and Rory bound in, breathlessly, with Jess at her heels, obviously flustered from rushing to the diner.
"Hi mom! Sorry I'm late!" Rory said, sliding into her seat.
"Jess, where were you? Your shift started an hour ago." Luke asked, giving his nephew a dirty look.
"Out," Jess replied, pausing momentarily. "Out with Rory." He stopped by Rory's seat, and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you later?" he asked.
"Definitely," Rory said, grinning ear to ear. "When does your shift end?"
"Whenever the diner-nazi lets me go, I guess" he replied, referring to Luke. Lorelai stifled a laugh, but couldn't help herself.
"Diner-nazi! I get it! It's like the soup nazi from Seinfeld!" she gasped, in between fits of laughter. "The name fits, doesn't it Rory? We should use it more often! So many variations of it too, like the coffee nazi, the burger nazi.." Lorelai trailed off, obviously catching Luke's death glare.
"Woah, Lukey, I was just joking," she said, batting her eyes furiously. "Won't you take a lil' pity on a young gal like me?" she said in a southern twang. "Oooh my, I'm famished! I feel like I could eat a horse! Luuuuukkkkeee!"
Luke couldn't help thinking how cute she was, faking a southern belle. He walked over, and pulled out his pad of paper and pen.
"Whadday want?" he asked gruffly, trying not to show his obvious emotions.
"Luke! Oh my goodness!! Was that you pretending to put on a Texas accent?" Lorelai exclaimed, surprised. "Oh my, my." she chortled, back in a southern accent. "What is a girl to do with such an handsome man such as yourself?" Lorelai looked up a Luke again, batting her eyes more furiously.
Luke narrowed his eyes, and asked "Do you, Lorelai Gilmore, think that I'd ever do a southern accent ever, let alone for you? NO! So, let me ask you again before your crazy charades start driving me crazy again - what do you want to order?" He looked at Rory, who was currently making out with Jess at her seat. He cleared his throat loudly, but not enough to separate the two. He cleared it again, louder, and the two jumped apart.
"If you want anything from the kitchen, order it now, or you're not getting any food tonight!" Luke warned, annoyed with their public displays of affection.
"See ya Rory" Jess said quickly, avoiding looks from Luke.
"Burgers and fries, with gravy on the side, please," Rory asked nicely, as she flusteredly straightened her hair and pulled out a book.
"Ditto, with cheese and bacon on the burger," Lorelai said, giving Luke a grin. "And step on it, please! We've got things to do," she said in a mocking tone, tapping her wrist as an indication of time.
Luke frowned, but left the two ladies at the table, avoiding getting caught up into another long winded conversation/argument.
"Caeser" he called out, opening the kitchen door. "Order up!"
~.~
"Mmm" Rory murmmered, sipping her coffee while walking along with her mother, on the way home. "That was a good burger, I must say. Hey, do you think Dad's hungry? We forgot to call to let him know that we were having dinner at Luke's!"
"Chris! Damn" Lorelai muttered, under her breath. "I forgot that he was still at home! Quick, what time is it?"
"Quarter to 7," Rory said, looking at her watch. "Wow, I didn't even know that we stayed at Luke's so long!"
Lorelai shrugged her shoulders, as she walked up the stairs to her house. She opened the door, and stepped in.
"Wait" Lorelai said, stopping Rory.
"Sniff!" she commanded.
"I can't" Rory said, her way blocked by her mother's outstretched hand. "I can't if you don't let me through." Rory pushed past her mother's arm. She took a deep breath in, and sighed. She looked at her mother, with big sad eyes. Lorelai looked back at her, with equally big eyes.
"Your Dad cooked dinner for us," Lorelai said sadly. "But we just ate at Luke's! What are we supposed to tell him... Hi Chris!" Lorelai stopped abruptly, quickly addressing the figure standing in the hallway. "Dinner smells great!" she said, smiling.
"Where were you guys?" Chris asked, trying to hold down his anger. He knew that he shouldn't be angry at all for it was also his fault for not telling the girls that he was preparing dinner tonight.
Lorelai stiffened at his tone, her face falling.
"Well," she started, "Rory and I always meet after work and school at Luke's for coffee, and usually dinner, cause I guess you realized that we usually don't cook for ourselves at home, because we don't have food, nor the time to shop for food, and if we have food it's usually junk food, and,"
"Mom" Rory hissed, nudging her mother hard in the side. "Stop rambling." she whispered to her mother. She turned to her father and said "Sorry dad that we missed dinner but how about Saturday? We'll have dinner together here, maybe you can teach me how to make something!" Rory smiled brightly, hoping to cheer her father up.
"It's okay." Chris said, obviously sad. "You didn't miss much, plus it's cold already. If you've got room, I bought dessert.." he trailed off.
"Dessert! You always know the way to a Gilmore's heart" Lorelai exclaimed smiling. "Lead the way!" she said, turning Chris and pushing him towards the kitchen. She stopped and froze at the sight of the kitchen.
"Oh Chris" Lorelai breathed, her voice soft and sad. The kitchen table was covered in white linens, and the plates were all set, and a bread basket had been prepared.
"I'm so sorry" Lorelai apologized again, her frown returning. "Geeze Chris - all this effort, and it's gone to waste. It looks like we've gone to Friday dinner at my mom's, with the table set with linens -who even knew we had table lines? And the bread basket, with" Lorelai pause, picked up the bread basket, and inhaled it, "with garlic bread."
Lorelai turned to face Chris, who was at the stove heaping pasta sauce into a glass jar, a sullen look on his face, with Rory at his side, watching him. She dipped her finger into the pot, and licked it.
"Mmmmm. Dad - this is really good! Try this mom!" Rory said, beckoning for her mother come and taste.
Lorelai walked up behind Chris, who was scraping the remainder of the sauce out of the pot, and put her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. Chris rose, his heart thumping rapidly. The sweet scent of Lorelai's perfume drifted to his nose, and he inhaled deeply. He glanced at Lorelai who was staring intently with much interest in the pot, and then over to the right where Rory was trying to stick her finger in the pot, and sample more of the pasta sauce. The corners of his frown started to turn up into a smile. Finally, he achieved what he wanted, a family. The three of them, together. Suddenly, Georgia started to cry. His heart sunk, as he broke away from Lorelai's embrace.
"I should go see what's wrong" he stuttered, his face flushed, his frown returning.
"No dad, don't worry. You finish cleaning up, an get dessert ready" Rory said, firmly, leaving the room. "I'll go see what's wrong, and if it's nothing I can fix, I'll holler okay?"
Lorelai's arms crept back to their original place, and Chris resumed his task at hand. He handed the wooden spoon to Lorelai.
"Lick?" he asked. She smiled, and took the spoon from him, giving it a small lick. He watched her close her eyes, enjoying the flavors immensely.
"This is so good Chris" she said, her voice just above a whisper.
"Good," Chris replied, in the same tone. "Good."
Rory walked in, with Georgia quietly gurgling on her shoulder happily.
"I changed her diaper," she said, with a proud look on her face.
Lorelai laughed, as she put the wooden spoon in the sink, and took a seat. Rory sat down at the table, listening to Lorelai begin to tell her a baby story about herself, as Chris went to prepare the dessert.
With out them noticing, he smiled broadly, relieved and glad that Georgia hadn't interrupted the evening, but added to the fun. The perfect image of a family - his family, and it was something he'd been looking for for years, of which he finally found.
~.~
Ring, Ring.
Lorelai raced down the stairs still dressed pajamas, her hair a mess, obviously still half asleep.
"Mmm? Hello?"
"Lorelai?"
"Moooooooom. Do you know what time it is?" Lorelai cried into the phone, quite tempted to hang up on her mother.
"Yes, Lorelai, I do know what time it is. Do you know what time it is?" her mother shrilled.
"No, mom, I don't know what time it is, what time is it?" Lorelai replied, looking for a clock. She picked up the small clock beside the answering machine. It stated that it was 9:00 am. She shook it violently, and held it up at her ear - to check if it was still ticking.
"Lorelai - I cannot believe you don't know what time it is. It's 9 am on Friday morning. On a Friday morning" Emily repeated, emphasizing the day. "It's Friday, and why aren't you at work? I called the inn, and that French man told me you weren't in yet. I decide to call you at home, and it seems like you're barely awake! You have a job, Lorelai, in fact - an inn to run! So why aren't you at work?" Emily huffed, obviously annoyed for a reason. "That's not the point though," she said.
"Mom, I'm late for work, as you previously over stated." Lorelai said. "Why are you calling?"
"I'm calling because I would like to know who is staying in your spare room at the current moment?"
Lorelai's heart sunk. How on earth did she know?
"Lorelai?" her mother's voice sounded again. "Lorelai? Answer me." Another pause.
"Chris is here," Lorelai answered in a dull voice.
"I know that," Emily said tensely. "Why is he there? Why didn't you call me to let me know that he was there? Did he bring that awful women's daughter? How long is he staying" Lorelai gently held the phone away from her ear, closing her eyes, and grimacing. How did her mother know everything?
"That's beside the point, I'm absolutely sure that he has some good explanation as to why he showed up at your door. Bring him to dinner tonight, and please, do not be late." Emily said, briskly. She was not getting the answers to her questions. "7 pm, don't be late." and she hung up.
"Mom?" Lorelai spoke into the phone, angry that her mother hung up on her. "Mom? Hello? Grrrr," she growled, hanging up the phone.
Chris walked into the room, his hair in complete disarray.
"Morning," he yawned. By the annoyed look on her face, he knew who had called on the phone. He held up a note. "Rory left a note, saying that she went to school already. Georgie is still sleeping."
"Emily called, you're coming to dinner with us tonight. I have no idea how she knew that you were in town either. I swear, she must have this house wired with cameras, to video tape our every move every single moment of the day." Lorelai grumbled, walking towards Chris. Chris opened his arms and wrapped them around Lorelai in a hug.
"Dinner it is, at 7?" he confirmed.
"Yup."
"You should get ready for work, you're late. I'll make you coffee?" Chris offered.
"You sound like my mother ' you're late for work'" she mimicked. "But I'm glad that you're not my mother. She would never make me coffee. Thanks." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, and disappearing back upstairs to get ready.
~.~ Earlier this morning..
The door jingled, and Rory walked into your diner. She yawned as she sat down at the stool.
"Coffee please."
Luke looked over her shoulder, looking for Lorelai.
"She's at home, she was still sleeping when I left. Her and Dad were up really late last night," she said.
"Who?" Luke asked, not pretending to care, despite the odd empty in him, knowing that Lorelai wasn't sitting next to Rory, begging for coffee and ordering a grease filled breakfast.
"Ready?" Jess asked, coming down the stairs, with his book in hand. He leaned in and gave Rory a quick 'good morning' kiss. He licked his lips, they tasted like strawberry lip gloss and coffee : Rory.
"Yup." Rory said, finishing off her coffee. "Thanks for the java, I'll tell her you were looking for her okay?" she said, implying that Luke was indeed looking for Lorelai.
Flustered, Luke looked down, and said "Yeah, okay." Even though Luke didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, everyone knew about his feelings for Lorelai. Only if he could just tell Lorelai what he felt in his heart. He picked up a dish, and set aside a strawberry cheese danish, saving it for a certain coffee drinker.
~.~
Luke walked out of the kitchen, his arms full of plates. Jess stood behind the counter, leaned over and locked in a passionate kiss with Rory.
"I've got to go" Rory said, breaking away from the kiss. "Friday dinner." she explained, responding to Jess' pout. "I'll swing by after dinner?" she offered, giving him another quick kiss.
"All right," Jess relented.
"Coffee?" he asked, as Rory picked up her bag.
"Yes please" she answered, smiling. Luke set down two foam cups, and a paper bag. Both Rory and Jess stopped and looked at Luke in disbelief.
"You wanted coffee right?" he asked. Rory nodded, but still had a questioning look on her face.
"Your mom didn't come in this morning, and I thought she'd want a cup of coffee. Plus" he said, picking up the paper bag, "it's danish day, and I had saved one for her. Strawberry cream cheese." he added.
"Thanks Luke, " Rory said, picking up the cups. Jess followed the her to the door, and walked her out.
Once they were outside, she turned to Jess.
"What was that? All about?" She demanded, still confused at what just went on inside.
"So you noticed that too. I thought that I was going insane, and seeing things."
"Tell me about it, tell me about it." Rory agreed, shaking her head. "Something's up."
"Speaking of things," Jess said, taking a cup of coffee and holding it for Rory as they walked, "what's with your mom and dad? Anything going on there?"
"What do you mean?" Rory demanded, stopping abruptly. "Nothing's going on with them. Nothing ever would either, not after Sookie's wedding. Mom got hurt, and she's not going to let that happen again. Dad just needs some help with Gigi." Rory continued.
Jess walked her up the steps of her front porch, and swung open the door. "Okay," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later tonight" and handed her the second coffee. "Bye."
"Rory?" Lorelai's voice sounded through the house, as Jess closed the door and left.
Lorelai quickly appeared by her daughter's side, her hands stretched out reaching for the cup of coffee.
"So you managed to con Luke into giving you an extra cup for me?" she said, smiling. "How long did that take?"
"Actually, " Rory said, "Luke gave it to me without me really asking him. He also gave you this" she continued, passing off the bag to her mom. "He saved you this - it's a strawberry cheese danish. He mentioned that you didn't come in for coffee this morning. He was a little sad when I saw him this morning."
Lorelai stopped in mid-sip, and lowered the cup. "Sad? Luke?" she laughed. "I can't believe that. Seriously, I think he was relieved that I didn't come in this morning. Saved him some time from lecturing me on my unhealthy eating habits."
"Seriously, Mom, he wasn't himself today. You should've seen him today." Rory said obviously not joking. "It was a little freaky. Not normal, if you ask me. Jess noticed it as well today."
"Hey Rory."
Chris appeared in the hallway, joining the two.
"We should get going soon, you should change Ror," he said. "You don't want to be late for your grandmother, " Chris said, heading to the living room.
Rory nodded, leaving her mother standing alone in the foyer, still shocked.
~.~
"You ready for this?" Lorelai asked, standing in front of the big oak door of Richard and Emily Gilmore's residence.
Chris and Rory both nodded, just before the door was flung wide open by Emily Gilmore.
"Why, you're late! Come in, come in." Emily answered, ushering them in. "Hello Christopher. Nice to see you again."
All three of them sighed simultaneously. It was definitely going to be a long night.
~.~
The four weary dinner of guests of Emily and Richard Gilmore stood out side on the driveway, admiring the starry sky, thanking their stars that they had made it through the night.
"Wow." Chris said, breaking the silence. "I never thought that Emily Gilmore could be so cold."
"Cold? You call that cold?" Lorelai countered, giving him a funny look. "She was down right icy, I swear, the polar ice caps are little pools of water compared to her!! And then when she turns on me, for not telling her that you were here. Oh, oh! And the best part what when she told us how she found out you were in town! I swear, all those D.A.R. ladies have nothing to do but gossip! Just one of them sees you grocery shopping in Hartford, and ten minutes later, she knows you're here! My goodness."
"Well, it's all done and over now, until next week, where the Gilmore dinner theater production takes another unexpected twist. What will it be?" Rory added, grateful they were headed home. As they walked to the car, Chris suggested that they go home, and have some coffee.
"Uh uh," Rory said, shaking her head. "It's to the diner for me," she smiled.
'The diner, huh?" Chris commented. "To see your boyfriend right?"
"Yup. Jess."
"Ah, I see. Why don't you invite him over to dinner tomorrow?" Chris suggested. "So I can finally meet the guy who's stolen my little girl's heart."
"Daaaaddd," Rory whined. "I'll ask, but he'll probably say no. He probably has to work anyways. But if he comes - you can't give him the third degree okay? No interrogation or anything."
"Okay." Chris promised, knowing he still would interrogate the kid. He turned to Lorelai.
"So, Lor? Coffee?"
Lorelai was standing there, in a daze. The diner. She hadn't been there all day. What if Rory spoke the truth? That Luke was sad that she didn't come over during the day? After all, he did send her a cup of coffee, and a strawberry cheese danish, her favorite. Perhaps she should...
"Lorelai" Chris called out impatiently, waiting for her to get in the car. "You okay?"
"Um, yeah, I'm okay" she answered lamely. "I think I'm going to head over to the diner with Rory, if you could kindly just drop us off on the way home. Just to thank Luke for the danish and coffee today. I haven't been all day to the diner."
Luke. Chris cringed at the name. Lorelai had turned down coffee with him at home, to go get coffee at some 'diner' in town. What was so special about this place? and Luke. Chris tried to not show his disappointment, but was slightly happy that Lorelai hadn't gone near the diner all day.
"Sure, no problem. To the diner we go!" he said cheerily, pulling out of the driveway. The drive home was filled with silence.
~.~
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I really really want to know what you guys think of my story so far. I have big dreams, huge aspirations - but I don't want to continue this unless, you - the reader wants me to. So, please review, make my day a whole lot better! And feed back on the chapter please.. and what you look for in the next chapter.
Many thanks to those who have reviewed so far, your encouragements have helped me so much! (Lizzie izzy - my beta, Angel Monroe, firegoddess, BROEmEaNtToBe). Pass the word onto others! (
Until then - pebbles ;)
by miss.pebbles.
A/N - hey! Here's the second chapter - thanks for the reviews I've received! But please keep on reviewing! I love reviews, they seriously keep an authors imagination alive!
Disclaimers are the same. Enjoy!
*************************
Chapter 2 -
"Hi Luke!" Lorelai called out, taking a seat at one of the empty tables in the diner. "Is Rory here?"
Luke acknowledged her presence by nodding his head, his pulse racing wildly, excited that she had come to the diner for dinner.
"No, she's not here" he said gruffly, setting down a cup of coffee in front of her. "This will tide you over 'til she gets here."
"Awww, Luke, thanks!" Lorelai said, surprised, but graciously accepting his cup without any other questions.
The diner door clanged open, and Rory bound in, breathlessly, with Jess at her heels, obviously flustered from rushing to the diner.
"Hi mom! Sorry I'm late!" Rory said, sliding into her seat.
"Jess, where were you? Your shift started an hour ago." Luke asked, giving his nephew a dirty look.
"Out," Jess replied, pausing momentarily. "Out with Rory." He stopped by Rory's seat, and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you later?" he asked.
"Definitely," Rory said, grinning ear to ear. "When does your shift end?"
"Whenever the diner-nazi lets me go, I guess" he replied, referring to Luke. Lorelai stifled a laugh, but couldn't help herself.
"Diner-nazi! I get it! It's like the soup nazi from Seinfeld!" she gasped, in between fits of laughter. "The name fits, doesn't it Rory? We should use it more often! So many variations of it too, like the coffee nazi, the burger nazi.." Lorelai trailed off, obviously catching Luke's death glare.
"Woah, Lukey, I was just joking," she said, batting her eyes furiously. "Won't you take a lil' pity on a young gal like me?" she said in a southern twang. "Oooh my, I'm famished! I feel like I could eat a horse! Luuuuukkkkeee!"
Luke couldn't help thinking how cute she was, faking a southern belle. He walked over, and pulled out his pad of paper and pen.
"Whadday want?" he asked gruffly, trying not to show his obvious emotions.
"Luke! Oh my goodness!! Was that you pretending to put on a Texas accent?" Lorelai exclaimed, surprised. "Oh my, my." she chortled, back in a southern accent. "What is a girl to do with such an handsome man such as yourself?" Lorelai looked up a Luke again, batting her eyes more furiously.
Luke narrowed his eyes, and asked "Do you, Lorelai Gilmore, think that I'd ever do a southern accent ever, let alone for you? NO! So, let me ask you again before your crazy charades start driving me crazy again - what do you want to order?" He looked at Rory, who was currently making out with Jess at her seat. He cleared his throat loudly, but not enough to separate the two. He cleared it again, louder, and the two jumped apart.
"If you want anything from the kitchen, order it now, or you're not getting any food tonight!" Luke warned, annoyed with their public displays of affection.
"See ya Rory" Jess said quickly, avoiding looks from Luke.
"Burgers and fries, with gravy on the side, please," Rory asked nicely, as she flusteredly straightened her hair and pulled out a book.
"Ditto, with cheese and bacon on the burger," Lorelai said, giving Luke a grin. "And step on it, please! We've got things to do," she said in a mocking tone, tapping her wrist as an indication of time.
Luke frowned, but left the two ladies at the table, avoiding getting caught up into another long winded conversation/argument.
"Caeser" he called out, opening the kitchen door. "Order up!"
~.~
"Mmm" Rory murmmered, sipping her coffee while walking along with her mother, on the way home. "That was a good burger, I must say. Hey, do you think Dad's hungry? We forgot to call to let him know that we were having dinner at Luke's!"
"Chris! Damn" Lorelai muttered, under her breath. "I forgot that he was still at home! Quick, what time is it?"
"Quarter to 7," Rory said, looking at her watch. "Wow, I didn't even know that we stayed at Luke's so long!"
Lorelai shrugged her shoulders, as she walked up the stairs to her house. She opened the door, and stepped in.
"Wait" Lorelai said, stopping Rory.
"Sniff!" she commanded.
"I can't" Rory said, her way blocked by her mother's outstretched hand. "I can't if you don't let me through." Rory pushed past her mother's arm. She took a deep breath in, and sighed. She looked at her mother, with big sad eyes. Lorelai looked back at her, with equally big eyes.
"Your Dad cooked dinner for us," Lorelai said sadly. "But we just ate at Luke's! What are we supposed to tell him... Hi Chris!" Lorelai stopped abruptly, quickly addressing the figure standing in the hallway. "Dinner smells great!" she said, smiling.
"Where were you guys?" Chris asked, trying to hold down his anger. He knew that he shouldn't be angry at all for it was also his fault for not telling the girls that he was preparing dinner tonight.
Lorelai stiffened at his tone, her face falling.
"Well," she started, "Rory and I always meet after work and school at Luke's for coffee, and usually dinner, cause I guess you realized that we usually don't cook for ourselves at home, because we don't have food, nor the time to shop for food, and if we have food it's usually junk food, and,"
"Mom" Rory hissed, nudging her mother hard in the side. "Stop rambling." she whispered to her mother. She turned to her father and said "Sorry dad that we missed dinner but how about Saturday? We'll have dinner together here, maybe you can teach me how to make something!" Rory smiled brightly, hoping to cheer her father up.
"It's okay." Chris said, obviously sad. "You didn't miss much, plus it's cold already. If you've got room, I bought dessert.." he trailed off.
"Dessert! You always know the way to a Gilmore's heart" Lorelai exclaimed smiling. "Lead the way!" she said, turning Chris and pushing him towards the kitchen. She stopped and froze at the sight of the kitchen.
"Oh Chris" Lorelai breathed, her voice soft and sad. The kitchen table was covered in white linens, and the plates were all set, and a bread basket had been prepared.
"I'm so sorry" Lorelai apologized again, her frown returning. "Geeze Chris - all this effort, and it's gone to waste. It looks like we've gone to Friday dinner at my mom's, with the table set with linens -who even knew we had table lines? And the bread basket, with" Lorelai pause, picked up the bread basket, and inhaled it, "with garlic bread."
Lorelai turned to face Chris, who was at the stove heaping pasta sauce into a glass jar, a sullen look on his face, with Rory at his side, watching him. She dipped her finger into the pot, and licked it.
"Mmmmm. Dad - this is really good! Try this mom!" Rory said, beckoning for her mother come and taste.
Lorelai walked up behind Chris, who was scraping the remainder of the sauce out of the pot, and put her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. Chris rose, his heart thumping rapidly. The sweet scent of Lorelai's perfume drifted to his nose, and he inhaled deeply. He glanced at Lorelai who was staring intently with much interest in the pot, and then over to the right where Rory was trying to stick her finger in the pot, and sample more of the pasta sauce. The corners of his frown started to turn up into a smile. Finally, he achieved what he wanted, a family. The three of them, together. Suddenly, Georgia started to cry. His heart sunk, as he broke away from Lorelai's embrace.
"I should go see what's wrong" he stuttered, his face flushed, his frown returning.
"No dad, don't worry. You finish cleaning up, an get dessert ready" Rory said, firmly, leaving the room. "I'll go see what's wrong, and if it's nothing I can fix, I'll holler okay?"
Lorelai's arms crept back to their original place, and Chris resumed his task at hand. He handed the wooden spoon to Lorelai.
"Lick?" he asked. She smiled, and took the spoon from him, giving it a small lick. He watched her close her eyes, enjoying the flavors immensely.
"This is so good Chris" she said, her voice just above a whisper.
"Good," Chris replied, in the same tone. "Good."
Rory walked in, with Georgia quietly gurgling on her shoulder happily.
"I changed her diaper," she said, with a proud look on her face.
Lorelai laughed, as she put the wooden spoon in the sink, and took a seat. Rory sat down at the table, listening to Lorelai begin to tell her a baby story about herself, as Chris went to prepare the dessert.
With out them noticing, he smiled broadly, relieved and glad that Georgia hadn't interrupted the evening, but added to the fun. The perfect image of a family - his family, and it was something he'd been looking for for years, of which he finally found.
~.~
Ring, Ring.
Lorelai raced down the stairs still dressed pajamas, her hair a mess, obviously still half asleep.
"Mmm? Hello?"
"Lorelai?"
"Moooooooom. Do you know what time it is?" Lorelai cried into the phone, quite tempted to hang up on her mother.
"Yes, Lorelai, I do know what time it is. Do you know what time it is?" her mother shrilled.
"No, mom, I don't know what time it is, what time is it?" Lorelai replied, looking for a clock. She picked up the small clock beside the answering machine. It stated that it was 9:00 am. She shook it violently, and held it up at her ear - to check if it was still ticking.
"Lorelai - I cannot believe you don't know what time it is. It's 9 am on Friday morning. On a Friday morning" Emily repeated, emphasizing the day. "It's Friday, and why aren't you at work? I called the inn, and that French man told me you weren't in yet. I decide to call you at home, and it seems like you're barely awake! You have a job, Lorelai, in fact - an inn to run! So why aren't you at work?" Emily huffed, obviously annoyed for a reason. "That's not the point though," she said.
"Mom, I'm late for work, as you previously over stated." Lorelai said. "Why are you calling?"
"I'm calling because I would like to know who is staying in your spare room at the current moment?"
Lorelai's heart sunk. How on earth did she know?
"Lorelai?" her mother's voice sounded again. "Lorelai? Answer me." Another pause.
"Chris is here," Lorelai answered in a dull voice.
"I know that," Emily said tensely. "Why is he there? Why didn't you call me to let me know that he was there? Did he bring that awful women's daughter? How long is he staying" Lorelai gently held the phone away from her ear, closing her eyes, and grimacing. How did her mother know everything?
"That's beside the point, I'm absolutely sure that he has some good explanation as to why he showed up at your door. Bring him to dinner tonight, and please, do not be late." Emily said, briskly. She was not getting the answers to her questions. "7 pm, don't be late." and she hung up.
"Mom?" Lorelai spoke into the phone, angry that her mother hung up on her. "Mom? Hello? Grrrr," she growled, hanging up the phone.
Chris walked into the room, his hair in complete disarray.
"Morning," he yawned. By the annoyed look on her face, he knew who had called on the phone. He held up a note. "Rory left a note, saying that she went to school already. Georgie is still sleeping."
"Emily called, you're coming to dinner with us tonight. I have no idea how she knew that you were in town either. I swear, she must have this house wired with cameras, to video tape our every move every single moment of the day." Lorelai grumbled, walking towards Chris. Chris opened his arms and wrapped them around Lorelai in a hug.
"Dinner it is, at 7?" he confirmed.
"Yup."
"You should get ready for work, you're late. I'll make you coffee?" Chris offered.
"You sound like my mother ' you're late for work'" she mimicked. "But I'm glad that you're not my mother. She would never make me coffee. Thanks." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, and disappearing back upstairs to get ready.
~.~ Earlier this morning..
The door jingled, and Rory walked into your diner. She yawned as she sat down at the stool.
"Coffee please."
Luke looked over her shoulder, looking for Lorelai.
"She's at home, she was still sleeping when I left. Her and Dad were up really late last night," she said.
"Who?" Luke asked, not pretending to care, despite the odd empty in him, knowing that Lorelai wasn't sitting next to Rory, begging for coffee and ordering a grease filled breakfast.
"Ready?" Jess asked, coming down the stairs, with his book in hand. He leaned in and gave Rory a quick 'good morning' kiss. He licked his lips, they tasted like strawberry lip gloss and coffee : Rory.
"Yup." Rory said, finishing off her coffee. "Thanks for the java, I'll tell her you were looking for her okay?" she said, implying that Luke was indeed looking for Lorelai.
Flustered, Luke looked down, and said "Yeah, okay." Even though Luke didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, everyone knew about his feelings for Lorelai. Only if he could just tell Lorelai what he felt in his heart. He picked up a dish, and set aside a strawberry cheese danish, saving it for a certain coffee drinker.
~.~
Luke walked out of the kitchen, his arms full of plates. Jess stood behind the counter, leaned over and locked in a passionate kiss with Rory.
"I've got to go" Rory said, breaking away from the kiss. "Friday dinner." she explained, responding to Jess' pout. "I'll swing by after dinner?" she offered, giving him another quick kiss.
"All right," Jess relented.
"Coffee?" he asked, as Rory picked up her bag.
"Yes please" she answered, smiling. Luke set down two foam cups, and a paper bag. Both Rory and Jess stopped and looked at Luke in disbelief.
"You wanted coffee right?" he asked. Rory nodded, but still had a questioning look on her face.
"Your mom didn't come in this morning, and I thought she'd want a cup of coffee. Plus" he said, picking up the paper bag, "it's danish day, and I had saved one for her. Strawberry cream cheese." he added.
"Thanks Luke, " Rory said, picking up the cups. Jess followed the her to the door, and walked her out.
Once they were outside, she turned to Jess.
"What was that? All about?" She demanded, still confused at what just went on inside.
"So you noticed that too. I thought that I was going insane, and seeing things."
"Tell me about it, tell me about it." Rory agreed, shaking her head. "Something's up."
"Speaking of things," Jess said, taking a cup of coffee and holding it for Rory as they walked, "what's with your mom and dad? Anything going on there?"
"What do you mean?" Rory demanded, stopping abruptly. "Nothing's going on with them. Nothing ever would either, not after Sookie's wedding. Mom got hurt, and she's not going to let that happen again. Dad just needs some help with Gigi." Rory continued.
Jess walked her up the steps of her front porch, and swung open the door. "Okay," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later tonight" and handed her the second coffee. "Bye."
"Rory?" Lorelai's voice sounded through the house, as Jess closed the door and left.
Lorelai quickly appeared by her daughter's side, her hands stretched out reaching for the cup of coffee.
"So you managed to con Luke into giving you an extra cup for me?" she said, smiling. "How long did that take?"
"Actually, " Rory said, "Luke gave it to me without me really asking him. He also gave you this" she continued, passing off the bag to her mom. "He saved you this - it's a strawberry cheese danish. He mentioned that you didn't come in for coffee this morning. He was a little sad when I saw him this morning."
Lorelai stopped in mid-sip, and lowered the cup. "Sad? Luke?" she laughed. "I can't believe that. Seriously, I think he was relieved that I didn't come in this morning. Saved him some time from lecturing me on my unhealthy eating habits."
"Seriously, Mom, he wasn't himself today. You should've seen him today." Rory said obviously not joking. "It was a little freaky. Not normal, if you ask me. Jess noticed it as well today."
"Hey Rory."
Chris appeared in the hallway, joining the two.
"We should get going soon, you should change Ror," he said. "You don't want to be late for your grandmother, " Chris said, heading to the living room.
Rory nodded, leaving her mother standing alone in the foyer, still shocked.
~.~
"You ready for this?" Lorelai asked, standing in front of the big oak door of Richard and Emily Gilmore's residence.
Chris and Rory both nodded, just before the door was flung wide open by Emily Gilmore.
"Why, you're late! Come in, come in." Emily answered, ushering them in. "Hello Christopher. Nice to see you again."
All three of them sighed simultaneously. It was definitely going to be a long night.
~.~
The four weary dinner of guests of Emily and Richard Gilmore stood out side on the driveway, admiring the starry sky, thanking their stars that they had made it through the night.
"Wow." Chris said, breaking the silence. "I never thought that Emily Gilmore could be so cold."
"Cold? You call that cold?" Lorelai countered, giving him a funny look. "She was down right icy, I swear, the polar ice caps are little pools of water compared to her!! And then when she turns on me, for not telling her that you were here. Oh, oh! And the best part what when she told us how she found out you were in town! I swear, all those D.A.R. ladies have nothing to do but gossip! Just one of them sees you grocery shopping in Hartford, and ten minutes later, she knows you're here! My goodness."
"Well, it's all done and over now, until next week, where the Gilmore dinner theater production takes another unexpected twist. What will it be?" Rory added, grateful they were headed home. As they walked to the car, Chris suggested that they go home, and have some coffee.
"Uh uh," Rory said, shaking her head. "It's to the diner for me," she smiled.
'The diner, huh?" Chris commented. "To see your boyfriend right?"
"Yup. Jess."
"Ah, I see. Why don't you invite him over to dinner tomorrow?" Chris suggested. "So I can finally meet the guy who's stolen my little girl's heart."
"Daaaaddd," Rory whined. "I'll ask, but he'll probably say no. He probably has to work anyways. But if he comes - you can't give him the third degree okay? No interrogation or anything."
"Okay." Chris promised, knowing he still would interrogate the kid. He turned to Lorelai.
"So, Lor? Coffee?"
Lorelai was standing there, in a daze. The diner. She hadn't been there all day. What if Rory spoke the truth? That Luke was sad that she didn't come over during the day? After all, he did send her a cup of coffee, and a strawberry cheese danish, her favorite. Perhaps she should...
"Lorelai" Chris called out impatiently, waiting for her to get in the car. "You okay?"
"Um, yeah, I'm okay" she answered lamely. "I think I'm going to head over to the diner with Rory, if you could kindly just drop us off on the way home. Just to thank Luke for the danish and coffee today. I haven't been all day to the diner."
Luke. Chris cringed at the name. Lorelai had turned down coffee with him at home, to go get coffee at some 'diner' in town. What was so special about this place? and Luke. Chris tried to not show his disappointment, but was slightly happy that Lorelai hadn't gone near the diner all day.
"Sure, no problem. To the diner we go!" he said cheerily, pulling out of the driveway. The drive home was filled with silence.
~.~
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I really really want to know what you guys think of my story so far. I have big dreams, huge aspirations - but I don't want to continue this unless, you - the reader wants me to. So, please review, make my day a whole lot better! And feed back on the chapter please.. and what you look for in the next chapter.
Many thanks to those who have reviewed so far, your encouragements have helped me so much! (Lizzie izzy - my beta, Angel Monroe, firegoddess, BROEmEaNtToBe). Pass the word onto others! (
Until then - pebbles ;)